We caught up with SILK for a few words about his latest Lengoland drop

In recent times we have been keeping a key eye on a number of emerging artists. In a time of such mass expansion for the bass scene, we feel it is important for us to stay tuned in to both the forefront and the team of up and comers keeping everyone on their toes.

One of these up and comers is SILK, a London based producer who has been setting the pace left, right and centre. His powerful style of bass production has been turning a lot of heads, racking up a very impressive array of DJ support from some of the most enterprising faces in the UK bass scene and beyond.

After our feature on his ‘Rough Tempo’ EP, we felt it was only right to get in contact with SILK for an exclusive interview, in which we discussed his relationship with Lengoland, a round up of his 2018 and a bag of future plans that he has In the pipeline. You can check out the full interview feature below:

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So firstly, how did you first get involved with Lengoland?

It must have been about this time last year I was at my first proper gig in Plymouth and somebody suggested it to me. They explained how to join and on the train home I posted a clip from the night before in the group and had a wicked response.

In regards to getting involved with the label it was very natural. I was talking to Junior about the Lengoland NYE show at the O2 Academy Brixton and he introduced me to Kissy Sell Out (KSO) via Facebook, I sent him 3 tunes and from then on we have spoken nearly every day since leading up to the release.

Do you think that projects like Lengoland are important to the modern bass community?

Extremely important, being a part of Lengoland has taught me so much.

On a scale of 1-10 how do you feel your year has gone?

At the moment its feeling like a 10! Everything has really picked in the last 3-4 months and I am very grateful for all the support. I have had some amazing experiences and have met the best people this year.

How did this EP first come together?

I have had an early version of ‘Another Land’ in my sets for a while now, the same with ‘Explain’. They have also had sick support from bigger DJ’s so I felt it was time to give them away.

‘Rough Tempo’ was put together really quickly actually. I knew I wanted to make something that would stand out on the EP so I sent Kissy a video on WhatsApp of a melody idea i had in Logic, his reaction was sick and that motivated to get to work on it and the track was finished the next day.

How did you hook up with the vocalist on ‘Rough Tempo’?

Again it was very natural. The first time I met Will was on Sammy’s Represent show. We all got a long really well and I was so gassed by how good he was on mic, so I knew I wanted to do a tune with him before anyone else figured out how good he is haha.

We went on to do a couple of the ‘Like A Virjin’ tour dates together, it was then we really started talking about doing a track.

He originally MC’ed on my track ‘Fix Up’ but it just wasn’t flowing right, then I rearranged the vocals to fit on ‘Rough Tempo’ and it brought whole new element to the track.

Would you describe this as a solid summary of your sound?

Absolutely. Obviously I am always looking to improve my sound but 128-135 is where I am most comfortable and I feel this EP covers that nicely.

Which is your favourite track on the EP?

I would have to say ‘Rough Tempo’ as it always gets the best reaction at shows and was the most fun to make.

Which lesser known bass artists are you keeping an eye on at the minute?

Lesser known I’d have to say MPH, Hoda and Dommix. Those three always have tunes in my sets. Also me and MPH just wrapped up a colab that will be coming in 2019.

You seem to be grabbing a lot live bookings at the moment, do you prefer producing or DJing?

Id have to say DJing is defiantly the most enjoyable part of what I do, seeing the reaction to all the hard work and hours you have put in makes it worth it.

Saying that there is no better feeling then when you have finished a tune you are proud of.

What else do we have to look forward to from yourself?

I will be realising a lot more free music in 2019 starting in January and I am also lucky to have 2019 looking pretty busy gig-wise already as well.

It’s a very exciting time for UKG as a scene, with numerous different labels, both old school and new flourishing in a rapidly widening field of fortune. We are seeing some super impressive work from the likes of Four40, Slime, , Beastwang, Kiwi and a host of other names, giving the scene a real injection of vibrancy and fun, which is leading to more producers getting involved in the UK’s go-to summer sound.

The Brighton based label has always been seen as a forward thinking imprint, always looking to get involved with the next sound and be a part of what is new and vibrant within bass music. Their extensive roster has seen some top draw names pass through over the years, including the likes of Bushbaby, Skepsis, Darkly, Distinct, Freddie Martin, Zero and more.

What better way to kick off a monday than with an exclusive premiere eh?Today we are heading over to LA, one of the new leading lights in the American Bass scene, with a tonne of new and exciting artists emerging from the mist every day. We are absolutely loving the American influence on world bass music, with an influx of more techy influences and glitchy, poppy percussive additions making their way into more and more original creations.